Garfunkel returned to academia and taught high school algebra, and Simon headed for England to hone his craft and try his hand at performing on street corners and in small cafés. The duo’s perfectly blended voices were their key attribute, and critics noted the depth and sophistication in songs like Simon’s “The Sound of Silence”… but the album stiffed. He and Garfunkel regrouped in 1964, now under the auspices of Columbia Records, and released their debut album, “Wednesday Morning, 3 AM,” a mix of traditional folk songs and promising Simon originals. That was essentially a “one-hit wonder,” however, and the two eventually parted ways to pursue their own paths in college and elsewhere.īy the time he was 22, Simon was starting to emulate Dylan’s penchant for writing meaningful lyrics that expressed much more emotion and weight than the standard pop songs of the day. With his middle school pal Garfunkel, he worked on tight harmonies in The Everly Brothers mold and even won a modest recording contract while still in high school, and the duo, calling themselves Tom and Jerry, had a minor hit (#49) called “Hey Schoolgirl” in 1957.
“Tom and Jerry” in 1957īorn and raised in Queens in the late ‘40s and ‘50s, Simon claims to be essentially a rock ‘n roll kid, cutting his teeth on ‘50s rhythm and blues, doo-wop and Buddy Holly. I would venture to say Simon’s portfolio contains only two LPs that could be considered below average. Consequently, his work has, in my view, been more consistently excellent than his peers who, while capable of monumentally strong songs and albums, have numerous duds in their catalogs. He has tended to labor a long time between records, struggling with his perfectionism and occasional writer’s block issues. While contemporaries like Bob Dylan and Van Morrison have each released upwards of 40 albums of new material since their debuts in the mid-‘60s, Simon has fewer than 20 (five with Garfunkel and 15 on his own). This week, he turned 80, and although he has retired from touring, and might not record another album of new music, he can rest comfortably in the knowledge that he is broadly acknowledged as one of the two or three best songwriters in our lifetimes.
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Essentially, he’s the reason I wanted to learn how to play acoustic guitar - so I could sing his songs around campfires and in back yards with friends and family.įrom the delicate melodies and wistful lyrics of his early days with Art Garfunkel through his use of an ever-broadening palette of musical styles and rhythms and vocabulary-rich lyrics as a solo artist, Simon has astonished and impressed critics and the public alike for nearly six decades. Here are the 15 Best Simon & Garfunkel songs.I’d say there are less than a dozen true geniuses of song craftsmanship in popular music, and among that rarified club, Paul Simon is my personal hero. Despite the fact that none of their songs were officially written together, the combination of Paul’s intricate and timeless songwriting, Art’s vocals, and their voices together makes them one of the best musical duos of all time. And by now, they’ve become so entrenched in popular music that practically anytime musicians harmonize and wield an acoustic guitar, the names Simon and Garfunkel come up.
Eventually the pair settled on a new band name and honed their folk style everywhere from Greenwich Village coffee shops to European locales.īefore splitting in 1970, although they’ve reunited numerous time since, the iconic duo released five studio albums crafting traditional folk and folk-rock music. Before they reached their multiple breaking points, Paul and Art were childhood friends who as teenagers performed under the name Tom & Jerry. Amongst all the drama and bitterness between Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, ( still crazy after so many these years), the pair knew how to make music together.
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